- The development of lighter and more resilient materials whose manufacture requires less energy, for use in transportation or buildings;
- The development of electric cars by designing new batteries or development of hydrogen technologies;
- The design of vehicles and systems that allow automatic driving;
- The design and manufacture of more resistant construction materials, capable of self-repair that remove air pollution, helping to purify the city's air;
- The development of new building materials capable of photovoltaic energy generation, or able to filter light based on brightness;
- The development of low-power lighting and signaling systems;
- Establishing extensive networks of sensors that monitor traffic, parking spaces, waste disposal utilization, air pollution, the presence of pollen, the temperature, the number of pedestrians, the moisture content of soil in public parks, etc. in real time and with pinpoint accuracy;
- The development of networked devices that are able to make decisions automatically and autonomously;
- Support of control and observation tasks by system drones;
- The development of systems for storage and processing of the huge amount of data collected in order to improve information systems, decision-making, power grid and water network management, the participation of citizens in city government, etc.
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| When it comes to nanotechnology and the development of new nanomaterials and devices that smart cities can benefit from, there are several areas that immediately stand out: |
- Millimeter wave technology for 5G networks for virtual city-wide networks
- Nanomaterials to be used in the construction of smart buildings
- Tiny sensors or even smart dust to enable city-wide out
- smart windows to regulate buildings' indoor climate
- Efficient, smart lighting systems
- Energy-generating smart roads
- High storage capacity batteries and ultra capacitors with fast loading times for electric vehicles and battery storage of renewable energy
- Water purification and filtration
- Smart phone hardware that enables smart city connectivity of inhabitants.
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Nanotechnology-enabled sensor technology
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Data-collecting sensors embedded in all kinds of devices are at the core of IoT applications. Especially in demand are light-weight, thin, robust, and flexible sensors that can be seamlessly integrated onto any surface, which is difficult to realize in conventional electromechanical sensors.
| Wireless sensors, whether electronic or photonic (light-based), can monitor such environmental factors as humidity, temperature and air pressure. One example of IoT-suitable sensing devices are fully integrated and packaged wireless sensors for environmental monitoring applications that can be 3S printed. |
| Another example are graphene sensors embedded into RFID for wireless humidity sensing: By layering graphene oxide (a derivative of graphene) over graphene to create a flexible hetero structure, the team have developed humidity sensors for remote sensing with the ability to connect to any wireless network. |
| Still a bit in the future is smart dust – imagine a cloud of sensors, each the size of a grain of sand or even smaller, blown aloft by hurricane winds and relaying data on the storm to weather stations below. Picture an invisible sensor network embedded into a smart city’s roads to monitor traffic, road surface damage and identify available parking spaces – all in real time. Or billions of Nano sensors distributed over areas with fire hazards to detect a fire at its very beginning. Or envision programmable smart dust that triggers an alarm signal when invisible micro cracks are detected in a turbine blade. |
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Already, advances in electronics and electronic chip let have reduced the footprint of smart dust quite a bit.
Micro materials to be used in building construction
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| Nanotechnology has a significant impact in the construction sector. Several applications have been developed for this specific sector to improve the durability and enhanced performance of construction components, energy efficiency and safety of the buildings, facilitating the ease of maintenance and to provide increased living comfort. |
| Nanoparticles of TiO2, Al2O3 or Zn O are applied as a final coating on construction ceramics to bring this characteristic to the surfaces. TiO2 is being used for its ability to break down dirt or pollution when exposed to UV light and then allow it to be washed off by rainwater on surfaces like tiles, glass and sanitary ware. Zn O is used to have UV resistance in both coatings and paints. Micro sized Al2O3 particles are used to make surfaces scratch resistant. These surfaces also prevent / decelerate formation of bad smells, fungus and mold. |
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